In an effort to upgrade my 2007 Kawasaki SXR 800 jetski I decided to install an ADA girdled head. I went with 28cc domes as my compression was already pretty low. This is install happened in conjunction with the install of a factory wet pipe exhaust (install write-up here).
Parts Needed:
Tools Needed:
First part of the install is to remove the head and cylinder to add the base of the girdle. I completely removed the cylinder as you need to remove the outer most studs to replace with the 4 larger studs that come with the kit.
As I was planning to install my factory wet pipe during the process I removed the entire exhaust system first.
Then the carbs and head.
Then the cylinders.
I shoved paper towels into the crank area to prevent debris from falling in as I cleaned up the gasket and replaced the studs.
Next using both the dual nut method and vice grips I painstakingly removed the old short studs and reinstalled the new ones. Be careful of cranking the in with the dual bolt method. I ruined the threads on the nut and had to get a new nut and stud. I found it safer to twist them in using vice grips.
Once the longer studs were installed all the way in and the old gasket removed place the new gasket on the base and reinstall the cylinder. Good idea to use some oil on the cylinders and pistons.
You will see that the new studs stick up much higher than the cylinder. This is where the base part of the girdle goes on. It's tricky and will require you to life the cylinders up a bit to get them to line up with the outside 10mm bolts, so do not tighten it down until everything is lined up. For me I found you had to remove the 10mm bolts that held on the cover for the driveshaft.
Once the cylinder is installed and tightened down (22 ft/lbs), next step is to install the domes (28cc in my case) into the ADA head. I used grease to keep the o-rings in place (as suggested by ADA). Make sure you install the water fittings into the head. Once you have the domes in and all o-rings installed (one on each dome face, one on each dome top, one on the outside of the head).
Next install the head and torque down to spec in spiral fashion (18 ft/lbs). Tighten down the girdle bolts (18 ft/lbs).
Test compression on both cylinders to make sure they are within an expected range depending on the domes selected. Keeping in mind the variance for sub-par tools (like mine...)
I found that I needed to adapt the throttle cable holder as the girdle got in the way. This was easily fixed as I had already eliminated the choke and just had to trim it up with an angle grinder.
UPDATE: The jetski has been ridden a few times now and it absolutely rips. The low end on it combined with the factory wet pipe is unreal. Would highly recommend that combination.
As of Summer 2023 the jetski is still ripping! No rebuilds needed yet.
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